THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1932. THE UNEMPLOYED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21643, 13 May 1932, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1932. THE UNEMPLOYED.

Perhaps the most curious method which the militant factions among the unemployed in New Zealand have used in seeking to give expression to their dissatisfaction with the relief measures provided for them is that of refusing to work. Strikes in industry, by men in regular employment and skilled in their work, have yet to be proved a certainly successful means of gaining the ends of those who engage in them. When strikes are entered into by men who are out of work, and arc dependent on the community for such relief as is necessary for their sustenance, they are not only dangerous and futile but even grotesque. It is a wonder that the relief workers who have been incited to participate in them do not realise how foolish their conduct is. A strike in industry, while it generally spells loss to the strikers, may inflict hardship and inconvenience upon sections of the public. Of tin's a case in point is readily discernible. A strike among the unemployed can cause inconvenience and loss to nobody but the strikers themselves. It seems to be necessary to remind some of the relief workers that they are performing no' 1 important service to the community when they arc engaged in the jobs that are provided for them, and that therefore a refusal to work cannot be productive of distress or even annoyance to people, except in so far as they arc concerned, as they may well be, at the plight in which the strikers place themselves. It should tie evident to the unemployed that the rejection of the work which has been found for them is not the way to present an argument in favour of more liberal treatment. Every person who is in receipt of wages or an income of any sort is, to-day, heavily taxed to provide funds for unemployment relief.

It would be fantastic to suggest that the taxation is paid with rejoicing. In some cases the stiff scale has reduced the incomes of taxpayers to a level not considerably superior to that on which employed relief workers are paid. There has, however, been no complaint on the part of the general taxpayer. The people of New Zealand have recognised that they must assist the workless, and they are acceding without a murmur to the demands that are made upon them. The least they are entitled to expect of those on whose behalf they are being taxed is the manifestation of, a. desire and determination to prove deserving of consideration. It is generally admitted by the taxpayers who, in making the admission, may be merely inviting further raids upon their straitened resources, that the scale of relief is far from handsome. Though the plight of the unemployed is no fault of the public, they are regarded with sympathy which is demonstrated in a practical way; but they are incurring the risk of alienating sympathy if they permit themselves to be used as the tools of an extreme party in the community which is bent upon exploiting the misfortunes of the people in the pursuance of its own subversive campaign. It may be agreed that the workless have grievances. They have, however, means at their hand by which they may ventilate them in a legitimate manner. So far from being despised and neglected, they are the object of a great deal of concern on the part of the Government and of the people as a whole. It is' extremely doubtful whether large numbers of the unemployed have any desire to participate in strikes and demonstrations. The secret ballot on the strike question that was conducted recently in Dunedin suggested the contrary. It is, for this reason, especially lamentable that the action of a few Communists, agitators, and irreconcilables should be tending to give the people of New Zealand an impression that may be unfavourable to the unemployed and to create outside New Zealand a belief that is liable to affect injuriously the credit of this country.